Table of contents:

• General Information about Nexo
• Buybacks
• Licenses and regulations
• Interest / Earning with your Crypto assets
• Dividend
• Competitors
• Frequently asked questions
• Important information

General Information about Nexo

What is Nexo?

Nexo delivers the The World’s First Instant Crypto-backed Loans, thus resolving a crucial inefficiency for the crypto world. Up to this very moment, no alternatives existed for digital asset owners to enjoy their crypto wealth except selling them. The innovative model of Nexo brings to the crypto community the best of both worlds - retaining 100% ownership of their digital assets while having immediate access to cash.

What are Instant Crypto-backed Loans?

The Instant Crypto-backed Loans are an automatic, flexible and cost-efficient way of obtaining liquidity that is secured by the value of the client’s digital assets. The whole process is completed in just a few simple clicks. No hidden fees, no capital gains taxes, no credit checks. Transparency is guaranteed through the use of blockchain technology, smart contracts and algorithmic processes executed by the Nexo Oracle.

Notes for US (United States) Customers

• You will not be able to exchange NEXO within the upcoming exchange. This is NOT due to Nexo, but because of the SEC.
• You can receive dividends, but paid in BTC not Nexo (Unless you're an accredited investor, then you can be paid in Nexo).
• It's pretty complicated to purchase Nexo (right now) for US customers.
• You can not receive the additional 2% bonus if choosing to get paid interest in Nexo.

How can I buy NEXO?

Currently, until the Exchange comes out, you will have to use a third-party platform to purchase NEXO. You can use the following:

• Changelly (Via the Nexo app, click on the banner on the homepage, at the top) [Note, very high fees/interest rate, but easy to use]
• Huobi.com (Not available for US customers) Send USDT, BTC, ETH to your Huobi wallet, trade it for Nexo. If you complete KYC you get a $10 fee deduction on trades.
• Uniswap. You have to buy ETH first somewhere and then swap it to Nexo. Good solution for 4 figure exchanges and under, above that, there is too little liquidity.
• Buy BNB from Binance, use Binance DEX to convert BNB to Nexo.
• Bitmart.com exchange.
• Hotbit.io exchange (very low liquidity)
• ChangeNow.io - Swap to NEXO

How is Nexo connected to Credissimo?

Nexo is powered by Credissimo, a leading FinTech Group serving millions of people across Europe for over 10 years. Credissimo has always operated under the highest regulatory requirements and strictest supervision by multiple European Banking and Financial Services Regulators. Now the same Team and its Board of Advisors, empowered by the ever-growing community of Nexo supporters and the enormous demand for the Instant Crypto-backed Loans, are unlocking the value of the digital assets in a rapidly expanding token economy that will alter the very fabric of a $5 trillion dollar market.

Who are the Nexo Founders?

Nexo was founded by the Credissimo team who have been in business for over 10+ years and awarded as one of the top 100 Financial Tech companies in Europe.

What happens when NEXO doesn't have enough cash to loan out?

They can't loan out without raising money, of course. So either they have to loan themselves with better terms, raise money through other means, or steadily process the loans facing a supply drought and customer loss. I could imagine that it would be technically legal for a certain % of the collateral to be sold, just like banks are not required to keep 100% of their customers cash in liquid form, but I have quite frankly no clue how this applies to nexo and crypto assets.

What happens to the deposited BTC/ETH if NEXO fails? Who holds the private keys to them coins?

Since nexo is properly registered in the EU, and given the EU's tendency to protect customers rather than company's, Id honestly assume we would have a novelty court case over this issue, with the expected result that the collateral has to be given back out, if it is still available. But as it often happens in crypto, if the coins are sold illegally its hard to reverse that kind of damage, and its even more tough to access them if they were sent to another wallet. I do not really think that there is a reasonable possibility of this happening without nexo deliberately destroying their business/turning criminal, because of the nature of this business and the contracts, and I would assume that not turning criminal is a much, much more profitable strategy in the long run, because nexo is well positioned to assume dominance in this market for what we know so far.

What happens if people fail to pay back the money, but at the same time the deposited BTC/ETH loose value and are not able to cover the loan amount any more? (With people then realising their collateral is valued at less then the money they have to pay back, thus being incentivised towards defaulting rather than paying back to get their crypto.)

If the collateral does not cover the loan due to falling prices, the loan agreement as far as I know will be automatically terminated, with the collateral held in the nexo account. The customer must either default through the prices not covering the loan amount, or with failure of payback itself, its not really possible that both the customer fails to pay back the money AND the collateral declines in value below the worth of the loan unless the market crashes so spectacularly that the collateral cannot be automatically sold. However the outcome is technically the same, nexo itself does not lose money if the client defaults (unless prices crash faster than nexo is able to sell, or the volume is gone, et cetera., which I think at this point is relatively unreasonable to assume.), and I think the "take a loan -> buy more crypto -> take more loans" scenario is incredibly unreasonable given that you can easily margin-trade with much higher leverage and less trouble than what nexo could loan out to you, so I dont assume loans are being taken for actual crypto investments, I rather think people believe in the collateral assuming value and see it as a locked up investment with extra short term utility

How is NEXO profitable?

Lending is the most profitable crypto market segment. Businesses are now parking their idle cash with crypto lenders. This trickle will soon become a flood. Nexo is arguably the most profitable lender. NEXO made ~$20 mill profit last year, paying a $6mill dividend.

Is Nexo trustworthy?

Considering that the founders of Nexo are some of the same people behind Credissimo an established successful award winning FinTech Group founded in 2007 which is still around gives gives me reassurance that my coins are somewhat safe. At the end of the day we're all taking a risk here. I'd be very surprised if Nexo just runs off with all our money in the process tainting all the work they've put in from Credissimo to here. It is poor that they haven't done much to reassure us that our crypto/money is as secure as they say but they have a track record that seems to speak for itself. Not many other defi platforms can do the same and we are seeing that almost every second day with the hacks occurring in the ecosystem.
There are actual people behind this thing that we can hold accountable. People who have Forbes articles written about them. People who have been on the news. I'm not saying it's still not possible for a security breach but again their track record seems to speak for itself.

What happens to my assets if NEXO goes under?

In the unlikely event that Nexo goes under, yes, your money is gone. There is no insurance in the world that covers something like that I'm afraid. It's the same for Cel, CDC, or any wallet provider.. remember, not your keys not your crypto. There is always a risk.

How can NEXO afford such high interest rates?

Simple, they borrow your money for ~8% and they lend it out for ~11.9% (no loyalty, this used to be 24.9% but I guess they changed it because it made them look like loan-sharks).
The concept behind Nexo is to make Crypto as liquid as possible for clients. Instead of selling crypto you can temporarily supplement it for a small loan.
Their average loan is well above the 5.9% minimum and more people are using the service to borrow rather than lend.
They are profitable, but don't expect the stablecoin interest to remain at 8%-12% long term, it's to attract new customers! Just like Crypto.com did.
One thing to note, the business model is SOLID, but only in a stable or bullish market. If for some reason Crypto market tanks, then it'll be an issue.

What happens if the market crashes?

The Loan-to-Value (i.e. ~50% for BTC and ETH) is dynamically determined by the Nexo Oracle algorithms, depending on the current and historical volatility and market liquidity of the asset. If the assets decrease significantly in value and you do not contribute additional assets to your Nexo Wallet after receiving a warning from the Nexo Oracle, Nexo may initiate small liquidations to cover any insufficiency.

Buybacks

Nexo announced a Buyback, has it been done, how can I track it?

The buyback has started, it seems like they are doing the buyback bit by bit instead of the full amount all at once. They purchase these tokens from the open market, where there is liquidity (Huobi for instance). You can check how many tokens have been bought back so far here: https://etherscan.io/address/0x1C433CBF4777e1f0dCe0374d79aaa8ecDC76B497#tokentxns

License and Regulations

Is NEXO compliant with the SEC?

Yes: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1732097/000173209718000004/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml

Could SEC investigate NEXO the same way they did with Ripple (XRP)?

Nexo is registered and compliant with the SEC when they did their ICO (Initial Coin Offering), there is nothing to worry about.

What is NEXO's insurance?

Nexo use BitGo (https://www.bitgo.com/) as their cold storage provider. This includes a $100m policy that covers third-party hacks, theft, loss of keys, etc.
The safety of clients funds is the main priority for Nexo. Cold storage Wallets are provided by BitGo, the leader in digital asset financial services. BitGo Custody carries $100,000,000.00 in insurance protections through a syndicate of underwriters through the Lloyd's, the world’s specialist insurance and reinsurance market. And this premium service comes in at no additional cost (details can be found here and here).
The $100 million policy covers digital assets where the private keys are held 100% by BitGo in the event of:

• Third-party hacks, copying, or theft of private keys
• Insider theft or dishonest acts by BitGo employees or executives
• Loss of keys

Nexo has chosen BitGo as its custodian because BitGo provides 100% cold storage technology in bank-grade Class III vaults and the BitGo platform is SOC 2 Type 2 certified. Advanced authentication mechanisms are employed to ensure the authenticity of data, and assets are distributed geographically and organisationally.
It is the account holders’ responsibility to safeguard their accounts by means including but not limited to using a strong password, enabling two-factor authentication and controlling all login credentials to Nexo. Clients remain owners of the crypto assets placed into Nexo accounts.

Why is their insurance only for $100m if they have $4B+ in assets under management (AUM)?

They don't keep the all of their assets in the one wallet.
Their custodian, BitGo, keeps funds in many smaller wallets - the likelihood of all those wallets being hacked at the same time is something approaching zero.

Is there details on Nexo's bank license?

Not yet, Nexo is not a bank yet, but it's possibly coming soon, as they just switched banks to IBS Lithuania UAB. (Not announced but since Lithuania gave Revolut a bank license it's very possible!)

What does an ISO/IEC 27001 certificate mean?

Nexo’s information security management system (ISMS) has been successfully audited by CISQ, a member of IQNet and the world’s largest provider of management system certification, and by RINA, who have decades of experience in certifications, ensuing in an ISO/IEC 27001 compliance certificate. This guarantees that Nexo's security infrastructure is of the highest standard and carries minimal risk to clients and investors thanks to rigorous security policies, impeccable risk assessment, data protection, and state-of-the-art cybersecurity.
Nexo’s ISO/IEC 27001 certificate was issued to it's Estonian entity, the subject of this certification is Nexo’s information security management system, rather than a specific registered entity. As such, it is irrelevant which Nexo entity the certificate was granted to.
Please also note that information provided on www.nexo.io is valid for all Nexo services and operations, as the aggregate of companies within the Nexo group. These include entities registered across the globe, all of which are fully compliant with local regulations.

Licenses and links

License: https://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/1898755
License: https://mtr.mkm.ee/juriidiline_isik/236278/valjavoteEdit?tulemus=Tegevusluba
SEC: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1732097/000173209718000004/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml
Estonia's Business Register: https://www.teatmik.ee/en/personlegal/14520507-Nexo-Services-O%C3%9C
Estonia Approval (Allows operations to all non-estonians): https://www.fi.ee/sites/default/files/2019-03/20190304%20Hoiatusteade%20Nexo.pdf

Interest / Earning with your Crypto assets

I transferred my assets yesterday and have not gotten any interest yet???

You get your first interest payout the day AFTER you deposit. This is normal, to avoid people cheating the system.

I am not getting my 10% interest!

It may not be clearly explained within the app, but in order to get the full potential for rates, you need to max your loyalty level as well as get paid in Nexo. Depending on how much NEXO is part of your portfolio, your loyalty level changes, so to achieve Platinum, you must have at least 10% of your crypto portolfio in NEXO. The bonuses for each level are as follows:

• Base = 5%* on Crypto, 8% on Fiat/Stablecoins
  
• Silver (1-5%) = 5.25% on Crypto, 8.25% on Fiat/Stablecoins
  
• Gold (5-10%) = 5.5% on Crypto, 9% on Fiat/Stablecoins
  
• Platinum (>10%) = 6% on Crypto, 10% on Fiat/Stablecoins
  

Crypto = BTC, Etherium, etc.
Stablecoins = USDC, Tether, etc. Fiat = Euro, GBP.
They get converted to their equivalent stable coin after depositing!
All % are PER YEAR NOT DAILY OR MONTHLY.
Remember, you get paid extra if you decide to receive interest in NEXO and not in-kind (same asset, so BTC to BTC for instance). This bonus is not available for US customers.

Example of interest earned:

Assuming you have 1 BTC in your Savings Wallet on NEXO, you would accumulate 5% per year if you do not hold any Nexo as well. 6% if you hold 10% worth of a BTC as Nexo in your account.
And additionally 2% more if you choose to receive the interest in Nexo and not BTC, so then it would be 7 or 8%, but this is not available for US customers.

I am not getting my 7% every day?!!!

Just like pretty much everything in this world, interest is shown PER YEAR. This means, you get 7% per year, not per day. ANY company, regardless if it's crypto or not, that tells you you can even make 1% back per day, is a ponzi / scam (unsustainable business).

How do I calculate what I should get % per day?

Simplified, and not 100% accurate, but very close, you should take the spot price of the asset at the moment of daily payout, multiply it by your loyalty / bonus level, and divide it by 365.
A more advanced, accurate calculation would be as follows (thanks to masashi_t):
Example: BTC interest is 6% in-kind and 8% in NEXO.
If you choose to earn in-kind, take into account of compounding interest, it would give you [(1+0.06)1/365-1]*100 = 0.0159% per day, or 6% APY
If you want to earn in NEXO instead, you will get (0.08/365)*100 = 0.022% per day, or 8% APR.
BTC and NEXO are both appreciating assets, you are free to pick which one you think will give you a better return in the future.

Small note regarding compounding interest:

The daily interest rate you receive for the like-kind reward already takes into account the fact it compounds to end with the stated annual interest rate. The interest rate you see for like-kind reward only is achieved if you keep it for 365 days. If you keep it for a lesser time, you actually get a lower interest rate.
I am not sure why this isn't mentioned in the app, as far as I know.

I am not getting back interest on my NEXO assets?

You do not get interest on NEXO token assets you hold in NEXO. Instead, you get dividends. Nexo give out 30% of their profits back to their customers that hold nexo tokens. Read this article for more information.

Do my assets on Nexo get locked-up / stake period?

NO! Unlike, CDC Crypto.com, you do not need to lock in your assets with Nexo, you can withdraw them at any time.

Do I get interest on my collateral?

Any assets in your Credit wallet do not get any interest, so you can not borrow 0.5BTC with 1BTC as collateral and make interest on the 1BTC at the same time. The only asset that "technically" makes % while being in the Credit wallet is Nexo tokens, where you get dividends regardless of which wallet the tokens are in.

Dividend

What is a dividend?

To "reward" loyal customers who support the project and Nexo token itself, Nexo have decided to do (yearly*) dividends, this means they give 30% of the benefits (profits) the company earned since the last dividend back to the nexo holders. Based on how many tokens you have and knowing there is currently a fixed supply of 560 millions tokens you can calculate what % you should get. Furthermore, they have an extra "bonus" for those who have held onto the tokens for a long time. This bonus is small, but it helps differentiate those who are holders and those who purchase nexo tokens before a dividend to cash in. Read the question below about frequency.

How regular are dividends, when is the next one?

So far, dividends have been yearly, in August. There have been mentions from Nexo that they'd like to do it more regularly. As any business/stock that do dividends, the price of the token/stock decreases drastically after dividend payout. Do not be alarmed.

Do US customers get dividends?

Yes, but paid out in BTC. EDIT: Apparently, you can receive it in NEXO as well, but you must be an accredited investor. Read this

Do I need to verify/kyc to receive dividend for my NEXO tokens?

Yes, advanced verification is necessary.

Where do I need to hold NEXO Tokens, in order to receive dividends?

NEXO Tokens must be held/staked in your Nexo account (doesn't matter if it's in the Credit or Savings Wallet) at the ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date will be communicated in advance.

Competitors

CELSIUS vs NEXO

Summarized: Celsius do a much better job at engaging with their customers, and their token CEL has performed better than NEXO, however, NEXO appears much more professional (imo of course), by taking things slowly but surely. Everything works perfectly, everything is tested, no downtimes, no trash-talking by the employees. CEL at this point seems like a cult, Nexo seems like a business.

Why is CEL so high compared to NEXO?

Visibility, marketing? Various reasons. IMO looking at their trading volume, its VERY low. If even a small-sized whale decided to sell their bags, it would crash. Basically, it's artificially inflated due to low liquidity.
Also keep in mind, Coinmarketcap and Coingecko show incorrect Market Cap data for Celsius. You can see the real value by visiting the Celsius website. It will crash soon, and hard. Again, my opinion.

Frequently asked questions:

Are there any airdrops/giveaways/freebies?

No. There are currently no giveaways. If you get contacted via Facebook, Twitter, Telegram or anywhere else, it's a scam. The only "giveaway" that is currently running is the fact that you can win 100k Nexo tokens for voting for which coin should be added next to the platform (You can do this via the app, on the home screen, scroll the top banners to the right until you find the one about voting.)

When will the Card (Crypto Credit Card) be released?

There are no official announcements yet, but all we know that is it currently in a private beta. A select few European (non UK) customers have been given cards to test the upcoming platform.

When will the Exchange be released (Buying and selling crypto within the Nexo app/webapp)?

Just like the card, there is no official news yet. All we know that there are a select few IOS users who have been given early access to test the functionality of this exchange. Currently, users are reporting a 1.5%~ spread on the exchange, which is quite high.

How long does Verification/KYC take?

Generally, it takes about 2 business days, although lately with the increase of users signing up it can take a big longer. If you don't hear back after a week I'd suggest contacting their support.

Support is not answering my emails?

One tip is to go on their website, open the live chat and type in "speak with human" "talk to agent" "human" to get transferred to a real person.

Are deposits and withdrawals free?

Yes, withdrawals are completely free, although deposits depend on which exchange you use to send your assets to Nexo with.

Difference between CREDIT and SAVINGS wallets

You must take into account that you have TWO wallets per asset within the Nexo platform. One for SAVINGS, which will give you interest on any assets you hold in it, and one for CREDIT which is basically your collateral, which you use for taking out crypto-backed loans.

Will Brexit affect UK customers?

There is no official information so far.

Does NEXO have a bonus/referral system?

No, you can not get $ or bonus for referring other users right now. The only thing you can do is share a link to the CARD page, to increase your position in the waiting list.

When are payouts made?

Usually around 12:00AM UTC, daily!

What coins are accepted as collateral?

BTC, ETH, XRP, LTC, XLM, BCH, EOS, LINK, TRX, stablecoins, PAXG, NEXO and BNB. More information

What is Collateral?

Collateral is crypto assets you would put up for a loan (if you don't repay they will sell it to cover the default). You do not earn interest on crypto that you use as collateral. If you are not borrowing from Nexo then your funds are held in a "savings wallet" where it can earn interest until it is either moved off the platform or used as collateral on a loan.
Nexo tokens do not earn interest the same way as other tokens, but do provide dividends from the profits of the company.

What are the loan-to-value (LTV) rates?

A Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio is an indicator representing the size of a loan compared to the value of the assets securing the loan.
The Loan-to-Value percentages of each asset are dynamically determined by the Nexo blockchain oracle algorithms, depending on the current and historical volatility and market liquidity of the asset.
More info

How many confirmations does my transfer need?

• BTC deposit require a minimum of 6 confirmations
• All ERC20 deposits (ETH, PAXG, NEXO, USDT, TUSD, USDC, PAX, DAI) require 50 confirmations
• LINK deposits require 40 confirmations
• XRP (Ripple), XLM (Stellar), BNB, NEXO BEP2 and EOS - near-instant
• BCH deposit requires 16 confirmations
• LTC deposit requires 6 confirmations
• TRX (Tron) deposit requires 20 confirmations

How can I find a list of important announcements, information?

https://support.nexo.io/hc/en-us/sections/360002501674-News-and-Updates-2020
On the sidebar, you can go back to 2018.

When will NEXO be listed on Coinbase?

It's very unlikely, because they are considered competitors. Furthermore, Nexo token is very clearly a security, based of the dividend payments and now the buyback program, these big exchanges aren't licensed to deal in securities, hence they will not list Nexo.

Will the (possible) upcoming bill regarding regulating self-hosted assets affect US NEXO customers?

No, Nexo is not self hosted. BitGo is their custodian.

How often does NEXO add new coins?

Not regularly at all.

Can NEXO be mined?

There is a fixed circulating supply of Nexo, the remainder the Team have said are locked until TBA.
So there isn't a dilution, as there are no new Nexo created - the dividend paid in Nexo needs to be bought from existing circulating supply by the company in order to be paid to holders.

Important information

NEXO's Roadmap?

• Banking license: Nexo is trying to either acquire a company or get their own banking license (like Revolut and Monzo) so they have more flexibility in their operations. It would be a huge step for a crypto company to get this and shows their ambition
  
• Credit Card: This will be similar to CDC and they'll offer generous cash back incentives of 2% when you get your credit card.
  
• Referral Scheme: Currently Nexo has done this massive growth without incentivised referrals, and when they turn this tap the company can likely see a lot of users pouring in for their great savings rates and crypto credit lines. But take a moment to think.. who do you trust more, a company that acquirers users based on their services/product, or a company that gives out bonuses to those who promote/spam their product..
  
• Exchanges and more Coins: The ability to exchange crypto within the eco system will go a long way to keeping users within the system. The plan is to let users buy and stake virtually any legitimate crypto asset.
  

And with this massive roadmap, the core principle they started with by sharing back with the community, they keep everyone's incentives aligned.

Where can I view statistics and information about Nexo?

https://nexologist.com/
https://nexostatistics.com/
https://www.hodlfire.com/go/hf-sheet/

How can I compare the earn rate of Nexo vs BlockFi/Cel/CDC/...?

https://blockscompare.com/

Important reads:

Liquidations: https://medium.com/nexo/why-liquidations-are-needed-and-how-they-protect-us-all-9d426ac70dc2
AMA from the Co-founder Antoni Trenchev: https://youtu.be/LBTrd8C5n1c
Nexo Help Center: https://support.nexo.io/hc/en-us/categories/360000766354-Nexo-Help-Center
Whitepaper: https://nexo.io/assets/downloads/Nexo-Whitepaper.pdf

Telegram Communities

Official Telegram
NEXOnians
NEXOnews
NEXOstatistics

Small thanks?

Took me quite a while to gather and write all of these if something is missing please let me know! Feel free to get me a beer if you'd like :)
(NEXO): 0xa6a87d29c362d63df60cf7667cacdfe411ee30e0

Section 0: Background
Hi everyone! I’m trying to tailor this a bit more to reflect the UK Money Diary style where I give context on the week before and reflect on it after. I also added in some of the questions from the recent thread about what Refinery29 should ask diarists (see here).
I wrote this the week of Thanksgiving; my partner and I stayed in NYC instead of going home to either of our parents’ homes. We wear masks and stay socially distant when we leave the house. I’m thankful that we live close to a park and live on a block where we know and enjoy talking to our neighbors.
This was a relatively normal week for us during a pandemic, save for me spending a bit more than normal and it being Thanksgiving. We’ve both lived in the city since college and have so-so relationships with our families, so we didn’t leave for “home” when the pandemic hit.
I also just named my boyfriend instead of giving him an initial. He’s the only person I actually saw this week, but the initials always throw me off when I read these.
What do money and success mean to you? What are your end goals?
It helps me to see money as a tool. I never resonate with people who say “money doesn’t buy happiness” because to a certain degree, it does. Money enables me to live the life I want.
I’m pursuing FIRE (financial independence, retire early) and hope to be financially independent (able to live off my investments) by my early 30s. To do so, I save 60%+ of my income per month. I want this because working for 40 years isn’t sustainable for me—I have a very cushy tech job and still get anxiety and rage about waking up every morning to work, the rat race, and being paid inequitably to male peers. I’d like to give myself the option to leave this world as soon as possible.
As an alternative, I could see myself successful if I open a product consultancy, where I advise early-stage startups on product management, what to build for their MVP, and product-market fit. I’m really interested in tech ethics and the questionable practices in venture capital, so I’d love to be in a place where I could be picky about what clients I take and help truly mission-driven businesses thrive. I could see this also working as a small business incubator—why not apply what works in startups to small businesses?
I don’t yet have a firm picture of what I’d like my life to look like when I retire. I’m interested in spending a lot of time reading, traveling to new places for extended periods of time, and potentially writing a book. I get extremely interested in niche topics. Right now if I had to guess, I’d be writing a book about the ways multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) manipulate women.
Are you a spender or a saver?
Definitely a saver. My partner is more of a spender, and we’ve influenced each other well. Seeing him spend money on himself for video games helps me realize I can spend more money on myself for things I just want (see my big purchase for myself this week).
In turn, seeing me save a lot of money has motivated him to up his 401k contribution and overall savings. He’s also interested in FIRE, although I’d say my timeline is more aggressive.
If you could go back in time, what's the one piece of financial advice you would give to your past self?
Learn about investing, look up the terms you don’t know, and start doing it as soon as possible. Ask questions to people you know or on the internet.
On to the diary!
​
Section One: Assets and Debt
Investment Balance
$131,175

• Retirement (includes 2 company 401ks and 1 rollover IRA): $55,730
• Brokerage: $27,233
• Roth IRA: $25,439
• Managed account: $17,923
• HSA: $4,850

Equity if you're a homeowner
N/A, I rent in a HCOL city. No plans to own anytime soon
Savings account balance
$10,270
Checking account balance
$3,433 in checking account for bills

• This fluctuates, but I try to invest anything over $2k. I’m pretty conservative with my checking account buffer, and don’t worry much about the interest I’m “losing,” especially because interest rates are so low right now

$2,518 in checking account for rent

• I keep a holdover account that’s connected to Venmo and Zelle to pay rent

Credit card debt
N/A. There’s $1,348 currently on my credit cards, but I pay them all off in full each month. My parents signed me up for a credit card as soon as I was old enough and taught me about how important it was to pay in full. In fact, I think this was so hammered into my brain that doing anything other than that each month was never an option. Because of this, I’ve always thought of credit cards as similar to debit cards—only spend money you have.
Student loan debt (for what degree)
I was fortunate to go to college on a full scholarship, including living expenses. I studied psychology and sociology, and I graduated without any student loan debt.
​
Section Two: Income
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $6,570/month
I maxed out my 401k early this year, so for 8 months I was contributing $2,500/month out of my paychecks. That ended in September, so it changed my monthly take-home from about $4,650 to $6,570/month.
Deductions:

• 401k: $0/month (was $2,500/month)
• Medical: $128/month
• Dental and vision: $11/month

Income Progression

• I started in customer support right out of college, making $40,000/year + overtime, which ended up being about $52,000/year (thanks OT!).
• About a year later, I moved into an entry-level product role at the same company and received a raise to $60,000/year.
• The next year, I moved to a new company for a half-step promotion where I was making $82,000/year + 15% yearly bonus. The bonus was dependable enough that it was assumed as part of our total compensation, so let’s call it $95,000/year.
• Early this year, I switched companies again (noticing a theme?) for a promotion and now make $122,000/year.

I don’t have any other sources of income outside my main job. My partner makes a similar amount to me—about $117,000/year with bonus.
​
Section Three: Expenses
I live with my partner and we don’t have combined finances, but split many expenses 50/50. We use Splitwise to log transactions. He’s more laid-back about being paid back, but I’m much more “I don’t want to owe anyone anything, and I don’t want anyone to owe me anything” (I know, rigid, but I’m working on it!).
Splitwise is nice because it’d be ridiculous to Venmo request each other for a $4 coffee, but we can see how expenses are adding up. If someone has racked up a few hundred dollars of spending for both of us, the other person will cover our expenses for awhile. It works for us!
Rent
$2,200 for a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment in Brooklyn. We split rent 50/50.
Renters insurance
About $7/month for my portion. This covers all our possessions plus my boyfriend’s watches. He pays 75% of it because half of the monthly cost comes from the extra watch overage.
Savings contribution
I try to have about $10,000 sitting in my savings account at any given time, because it makes me feel safe in case of an emergency. I also like the freedom it enables, in case I wanted to leave my job and take a significant amount of time off. This is already at the $10k I want, so I don’t contribute to it monthly.
Investment contribution
It varies but on average I contribute $2,500/month to my brokerage account and Roth IRA (combined).
Donations
I try to donate about $200/month, but it’s pretty sporadic. This month I donated to the Yellowhammer Fund and Northwest Abortion Access Fund. One of my major goals for 2021 is to step up my donations and create an actual strategy around them, potentially involving a donor-advised fund.
Gas/electric
Our gas is $20-25/month and electric is $50/month. I pay gas and Will pays electric, both go in Splitwise. About $37/month total for me.
Wifi
Our wifi is $60/month, which goes into Splitwise—I pay $30/month.
Cellphone
I’m still on my parents’ phone plan—sheesh! This is convincing me that I should Venmo them for it each month.
Subscriptions
I pay for Hulu with ads, $5.99/month. My boyfriend pays for Netflix and we share a Spotify family plan with a couple of his friends, which I chip in $4/month for.
I also pay for the budgeting software YNAB (You Need a Budget) which is $84/year. I only pay it once a year in September.
Medical
I recently had to go to the emergency room for an overnight stay and follow up with some specialists. (I’m okay!) Because of that whole shindig I’m expecting to max out my deductible (and potentially my out-of-pocket-max) right at the end of the year. This will be about $4,000, but none of the claims have come through yet so I’m not sure of the exact total. I have a category in my budget for my deductible, and the rest will come out of my emergency fund.
Physical therapy
This month I’m starting pelvic floor physical therapy for dyspareunia (pain with intercourse).
I’d tried everything the internet suggested (“just relaaaaaax”) before getting the courage to find a new ob-gyn and ask her about it. She had some recommendations, but ultimately physical therapy was the “last resort” option that I’m now exploring.
My new physical therapist comes highly recommended but is out of network with insurance. Each session is $250, and I’ll go once every 2-3 weeks for the next few months as part of treatment. If you’ve worked through this problem (or are experiencing it now!) I’d love to hear your experience.
​
Section Four: Additional Questions
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?
Absolutely. My dad was the first in his family to attend college and my parents made pretty calculated decisions about where they would live so I could go to the absolute best public school possible. Over 90% of students at my high school attend a 4-year college, and we start talking about it freshman year. To say college was encouraged in my environment is an understatement.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My dad has worked in finance since I was about 10. He’s always been really knowledgeable about both higher-level economic concepts and the minutiae of personal finance. My family is frugal, too: we clipped coupons and got clothes on super-sale at Kohl’s and Goodwill. I know there was a period of time when he became self-employed and money got very tight for a few years, but the bulk of those worries were largely kept from me.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes. While we were comfortable, we lived in such an affluent place that our family was in “the middle class” of the town and it made me worry more about money than I probably needed to. Think The Stepford Wives for context.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
In college, I became maybe 80% financially independent as I had a scholarship and worked part-time during school and over the summer, but I was still on their insurance.
I remember being frustrated in college because even though I knew I was extremely privileged, my friends in college had their parents pay their summer apartment rent and gave them an “allowance” of spending money, and I was “limited” by the options I could afford with the job I had. My dad told me at the time, “This is frustrating but it’s preparing you for actually having to live off the money you make in the near future.” (Great, great advice Dad.)
I’m technically still financially dependent on my parents for my cell phone bill, but otherwise I pay for everything: rent, insurance, utilities, food, therapy, and all wants in the form of clothing, workout classes, etc. I could ask my parents for money if I absolutely needed to, but would use it as a last resort.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
I have an account (mentioned above) that a family friend who’s a hedge fund manager, well, manages. I believe the initial deposit was $1000 over 10 years ago, but that money wasn’t mine either, it’s all a gift. It’s not very liquid—it’d take me several months (and some very good reasoning) to get any of that money withdrawn, since it’s supposed to be for “the future” (which I guess I could argue is now?).
I might receive a small amount of money when my grandmother passes, but it’d probably be around $1-2k, if at all.
​
Day 1 Wednesday, November 25, 2020
8:30am Wake up and shower, take my vitamin C gummies, then make coffee. I wasn’t much of a daily coffee drinker until my offices had it for free, and now I’m definitely addicted. I don’t really care if the coffee is shitty or not, I just put some milk in it and it’s great. Right now I’m trying to drink half or three-quarter cups so I can attempt to pull back my addiction a bit. I log onto work at 9am.
11:30am Eat leftovers from last night for lunch—quesadilla + Spanish rice. There’s an incredible Mexican restaurant by us, and now I am ruined for the tacos, quesadillas and nachos from any other place.
12:30pm Will picks me up in the U-Haul. We’re driving about 20 min away to pick up a butcher block desk he bought off Craigslist, which ends up being from a small office that’s downsizing. The desk is $150 which he pays for. We love the office’s style (and the owner is super nice!) and walk around while he shows us what else he’s trying to get rid of.
We end up buying an extra-large ZZ plant and two side tables from him for an extra $120, way less than we would have paid for the quality elsewhere. My half will be $60, and I’ll split the U-Haul too, $44.51. $82.26
2:45pm That ended up taking a lot longer than we expected! We get back and unload the van, then I bring stuff inside while Will returns the van to the U-Haul location. I jump back onto work—so much for a slow afternoon before Thanksgiving. AWS is down, which powers a lot of our engineering work (and a lot of the internet!) so a lot of our teams are basically twiddling their thumbs. We chat about how to message the outage to customers.
5:45pm Will starts making dinner (braised chicken and veggies) and I sit down to read with a strawberry Chobani, but I end up just reading Reddit and searching for new podcasts to listen to.
7:45pm Dinner was great! Now…ice cream.
9:43pm I remember that my mom sent me ideas for her and my dad’s Christmas presents, so I order on Etsy and Amazon. My dad gets a mug with an Ernest Hemingway quote (“write drunk, edit sober”) ($21.54) and a book on writing ($16.63), and my mom gets this food warming tote contraption she wanted ($43.52). We’ve been paring down Christmases over the years—this year I asked for the Europe version of Ticket to Ride. $81.69
11:15pm I finish up the first episode of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with some white cheddar Cheez-Its to snack on. After, I start on the dishes from dinner. I listen to the Product Market Misfits podcast while I do dishes—the episode with Kristen Anderson from Catch is great, highly recommend if you’re tired of just hearing stories about stereotypical Silicon Valley tech companies.
Day 1 Total: $166.69
Day 2 Thursday, November 26, 2020
10am Wake up super late since I stayed up scrolling on my phone too late last night. We make coffee and set out for a long walk around 11:15am.
12:05pm At the end of our walk, we swing by our local liquor store and buy 4 bottles of wine (red, white, rose, champagne). Will pays, total is $63.15 for everything. We haven’t had wine in the apartment for ages and I’m excited to have some stocked up. $31.57
12:30pm Get back from the walk, shower, then turn on football. I actually don’t really care about any NFL teams (I like college football a lot more), but it’s such calming background noise for me that I find myself looking for games when I have downtime. We also recently found out that Will’s friends’ dog only has a few months to live, so we order some jerky treats and a squeaky toy for him. $14.07
2:30pm We head out to the restaurant we’re going to for Thanksgiving lunch, a local place a short walk from our apartment. They’re doing a prix fixe menu of the classics—turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and a phenomenal tarte Tatin with ice cream for dessert.
We eat outside under heat lamps. It’s super cozy. With our bottle of wine and tip the total is $208 (I try to tip over and above the norm because it’s a pandemic and Thanksgiving). My half will be $104.
5:53pm Get back from the restaurant. We have a ton of leftovers which is awesome (I think it’s excessive frugality, but I almost expect to stretch takeout or restaurant meals into two meals). Exchange some texts with my friends about their socially-distant Thanksgiving celebrations.
I turn on the Washington vs. Cowboys game right at the halftime show, which is Kane Brown with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They’re all wearing masks (except for Kane) and it’s so odd to see them dancing in masks. I mean, I’m glad they’re wearing them, but it just seems like we could have gone without the halftime show this year.
9:21pm I order contacts from Contacts Direct. I got a new prescription but didn’t have a great experience with the eye doctor, so I’m hesitant about this order—only ordered one box of 90 lenses for each eye instead of a year’s worth of lenses. I’ve been getting headaches pretty frequently, so I’m hoping getting a new pair of glasses and alternating those (instead of wearing my contacts for 16 hours a day, every day) will help. $29.98 after insurance benefits
Day 2 Total: $179.62
​
Day 3 Friday, November 27
8:56am Wake up super last minute, run to sign onto Slack and then start grinding coffee beans. I’m online and drinking a big mug of coffee by 9:10. (So much for half cups.)
10:45am Come up for air from work and grab the stuff to make a bagel. Everything bagels and plain cream cheese are my go-to combo.
12:03pm I grab a bag of clothes to drop off at the donation bin and a couple library books to return. The library is about a 25 minute walk so it’ll be a nice lunch break diversion.
12:56pm After the library I stop by the grocery store for some paper towels and sponges, since we’re almost out. Total is $22.62, my half is $11.31
1:09pm When I get home I jump back into work and put the USA vs. Netherlands game on my second monitor. By the 75th minute, the US is up by 2 goals so they start putting in some younger players—it’s fun to see Midge Purce and Sophia Smith play! I also throw some bagel bites in the oven for a quick snack and promise myself dinner will be healthier.
4:23pm I zone out of work and start playing Among Us. I end up playing for over two hours. We open a bottle of wine at some point and I get super tipsy.
6:50pm Turn on the tail end of the Notre Dame vs. UNC game. It turns into Jeopardy, which turns into Wheel of Fortune, which I’m not mad about. P isn’t as into the game shows and leaves to microwave a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner and play video games.
8:40pm Finally getting hungry after my bagel bites and Cheez-Its this afternoon and make a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers—turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and cauliflower. Yum.
Will and I end up getting in a tiff about the mess in our apartment so we take a break, cool down and talk it through. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and go to bed around 1:30am.
Day 3 Total: $11.31
​
Day 4 Saturday, November 28, 2020
10:05am I stayed up late (again) so it’s nice to sleep in. I play Among Us for awhile and have a couple rounds where I’m the impostor and get some great kills and wins. I run out into the living room and celebrate with Will. We laugh because it’s silly how much we love the games we play. Around 10:45 I start making coffee.
11am We desperately need new sheets because our fitted sheet has a huge hole at Will’s feet (and it’s growing). I search a women’s personal finance group I’m in on Facebook for recommendations and we end up buying a queen sheet set from Belk. Total was $100.71 with their sale. $50.35
1pm I was planning on returning a package to the post office today, but forget it closes at 1pm on Saturdays so I decide to run to Target instead. I have a lampshade to return and want to look for a shower caddy as well. I also have an old iPad to return, which Will tells me I can do at Best Buy. He finds an old iPod and flip phone I can take too.
Take the MTA there ($2.75 for a single fare). When I get there, it’s a madhouse and I remember that I have sillily (is this a word?) decided to come on the weekend of Black Friday. I stand in the returns line for about 15 minutes and get $10.89 back, but ditch the idea of trying to look for a shower caddy. The checkout line looks like 100 people long. -$8.14 because of return
Next I go to Best Buy, but who am I kidding—the line to get in the store is even longer than the Target checkout line. I walk back to the subway and get on to go home. $2.75
2:30pm Since Best Buy was a no go, I search for electronic recycling around me on the way home just to see where I could drop off the devices I have. Apparently there’s an EcoATM not too far from my subway stop. It’s more for selling devices, but if they can’t give you money for something, they’ll recycle it, which is exactly what I wanted. I put each of the pieces in the scanner, and end up getting a whopping $2 total (for Will’s old iPod). Still cool because I was just expecting to recycle it all. I’ll give Will the $2.
2:44pm There’s a Dunkin nearby so I pop in to grab a couple donuts ($2.90). There’s a woman outside asking for money, so I give her $5 cash. $7.90
3:00pm Last stop—our favorite deli is nearby and Will mentioned he wanted to get bacon there recently. I get a 1/2 lb and salivate on the way home. This is one of those things I won’t put in Splitwise because it’s small and because it’s fun to get for P as a tiny little present. $3.50
3:45pm Once I’m home I’m super hungry from only eating carbs all morning so I have a snack of carrots, hummus and some pepperoni. I head back out to drop off a bag of clothes and shoes at a drop box a few blocks away. The neighbors are outside at the park near our house so I stop and chat with them for a few minutes. Their kids are the cutest.
6:47pm For dinner I make a ham and cheese sandwich (panini style with rosemary butter) and more carrots and hummus. I put on another episode of Sister Wives. These people are so fascinating to me—first off, I think the husband is completely full of himself. But I’m also so curious about the wives. There are a lot of talking head testimonials where the parents explain that they’re “oppressed” because they’re different and want to go public so the world can see polygamy as a valid family style (I’m only on season 2).
I know they’re probably playing up the “we love our other sister wives and have so much fun together even without Kody” aspect because people expect sister wives to be catty and hate each other, but I can’t help but wonder why they need to be in plural marriage to get the same friendship they seem to value so much. I also doubt they’d extend the same grace and tolerance they want to people who are “different” because they’re LGBTQ, or “different” because they’re in an open relationship or marriage.
9:15pm I mix together oatmeal chocolate chip cookie batter and put some cookies in the oven. While I’m waiting, I browse Zocdoc for well-reviewed providers—I want to make a podiatrist appointment for a lingering toe issue and an audiologist appointment for a routine hearing screening. I got the idea to make these appointments since I’ll hit my out-of-pocket max with the hospital visit, making them free or very discounted. I make two appointments for next week.
I also lust over a Farm Rio puffer jacket that feels overpriced but I just love. Maybe I’ll buy it tomorrow since they’re having a 30% off sale.
Day 4 Total: $64.50
​
Day 5 Sunday, November 29
8:58am Wake up and switch between scrolling on Reddit and playing a few Among Us games. After a bit Will gets out of bed and makes coffee for us.
9:45am Will finishes the movie he started last night and we start on breakfast. We’re making the bacon I bought yesterday, breakfast potatoes with onions, and a fried egg for Will (I can’t stand the taste or smell).
11:00am Yum! Breakfast was great. I watch a couple episodes of Sister Wives and mull over buying that ridiculous but amazing puffer jacket from Farm Rio. I’ve still been thinking about it since last night and I might take the plunge.
1:25pm I get a jolt of motivation to work out and do a 20 minute Sydney Cummings video on Youtube. I heard about it from a recent Money Diary posted here! After it’s done I’m so, so tired. I stretch and unpause my episode of Sister Wives.
2:22pm I help Will move the butcher block slab for his desk out to our backyard. We live on the first floor of a single-family home that was converted into apartments, so we get the backyard too—it’s awesome to have outdoor space in the city. P works on sanding it and applying poly for the next couple hours.
5:07pm Will suggests pizza for dinner and I am always, always down for pizza. I order pickup from the spot down the street—one grandma, one cheese and 2 orders of garlic knots come to $38.60. We’ll have leftovers for tomorrow too. $19.30
5:50pm We pick up the pizza and dig in. While we’re eating we turn on the Chiefs vs. Buccaneers game; Will has a few players on his fantasy team in this game.
6:57pm I sign up to write letters to Georgia residents encouraging them to vote in the Senate runoff elections in January. This is through Vote Forward—I did 20 letters for the general election in November and want to participate again. I’ll print the letters at a local coffee shop since we don’t have a printer at home.
Will sends me this Reddit comment about campaign finance since we’ve been talking about it recently. I decide I’m convinced by the argument and set up a $5 monthly donation to Brand New Congress. $5
8:19pm After texting back and forth with my friend all day, I buy the puffer jacket—so excited. She encouraged me to get it and is pumped for me too. $228.64
I also notice my paycheck has started processing in my checking account (I get paid tomorrow), so I enter the amount in YNAB and budget it all. I earmark about $1500 to go into my brokerage account tomorrow. I won’t include it here as “spending” since it’s included in the overview section above.
Day 5 Total: $252.94
​
Day 6 Monday, November 30
8:43am Wake up and turn on my Slack. Will started the coffee process and I finish it up by pouring the water into our Chemex and letting it steep (I know there’s a coffee-centric word for this...).
8:56am I check my Citi card and my YouTube TV trial rolled over—I was going to cancel it this morning, which I thought was the last day. I email support to see if they’ll refund me, because (I promise I’m not just saying this!) I did have a pretty bad experience. The Roku app was glitchy for us every time we watched something. Maybe they’ll feel nice today! $64.99
9:35am After responding to a few work messages, I run out the door to the post office to avoid a long package line. I did the Warby Parker 5-day home try on and have to return my box of glasses today. I found a pair I really like and am excited to get in the habit of wearing glasses again, instead of just my contacts.
Thankfully the line is only a few people long. The employees are also super nice every time I go, so I try to be really pleasant too. The lines are usually long and I’ve seen more than one adult have a fit at this post office. It’s rainy today and I couldn’t find our umbrella, so my flimsy rain jacket gets pretty soaked through on the walk back.
11:35am My podiatrist appointment is supposed to be tomorrow morning, and they call me to tell me since I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ll have to pay out of pocket for the visit. I explain that I’m 100% going to hit my deductible, the claims from the hospital just haven’t processed yet. I ask her to bill my insurance first for the visit, then I can pay whatever ends up not being covered (if anything). She agrees!
Maybe this is standard, but I’ve never had it happen before—even if I haven’t hit my deductible, I’ve always been to offices that bill insurance first, then I pay the remaining balance.
1:05pm Lots of meetings today. I break for lunch and heat up the braised chicken with veggies. It’s definitely on its last good day, so I’m glad I used it up. Still yummy!
2:20pm Woohoo! Get an email that my YouTube TV charge was refunded. -$64.99
Will ran to Home Depot today to buy some tools for his desk and also got a shower curtain liner since ours is ripping. I go to put it up in the bathroom but my arms are so sore—like I got my flu shot type of sore.
5:05pm Sign off work after trying to wrangle a supremely frustrating SQL query. I don’t get it but figure I can ask our analyst team for help tomorrow. Will will have a late night working, so pizza and Sister Wives is in my near future.
While watching, I update YNAB to reflect the end-of-month balances for my investment accounts. I get a huge dopamine hit by seeing my net worth number go up. I’m also anticipating it going down a bit next month because of my medical bills, so I relish the moment.
8:09pm It suddenly dawns on me that my arms are sore because I worked out yesterday. It’s so rare now that I literally forget when I do it. Ha!
9:15pm We watch the Eagles vs. Seahawks game and I absentmindedly play Among Us. I end up getting ...bullied by a person playing it? They get mad that I figured out they were the imposter and start saying all these schoolyard-type digs throughout the next couple rounds, but level 100 of cruel.
I’m embarrassed by how sad it makes me but think maybe it’s a good thing I don’t immediately know what to say to bully people back. Such a weird experience. I end up going to bed around 11:30.
Day 6 Total: $0
​
Day 7 December 1, 2020
7:07am Wake up late for my alarm at 7. I’m up a lot earlier today because my podiatrist appointment is first thing. I get dressed in the dark, kiss P goodbye, grab my water bottle and run out the door to the subway by 7:30. $2.75
8:10am Get to my stop and swing by Starbucks before the appointment. I get a vanilla latte and the bacon cheddar and egg sandwich. Total is around $10 but I have a gift card loaded onto my Starbucks app.
My spending here went way down when I switched jobs to an office not close to a Starbucks, and then stopped going into an office at all.
8:30am My appointment goes great, if a little painful when she numbs my toe. I had to get an ingrown toenail removed. I danced ballet and pointe for years so I’m (unfortunately) used to them, but this one was terrible. The doctor and I bond over both being dancers with bad feet and they schedule me for a follow up two weeks out.
She actually says there’s been a rise in these procedures because people aren’t getting pedicures since the pandemic and aren’t cutting their toenails well! Wild.
I look silly on the subway in December wearing Birkenstocks and socks with a huge toe bandage. It looks like one of those cartoon characters who stubs their toe and it becomes 10x bigger than their other toes. $2.75
9:40am I get off at the stop before mine to stop at Rite Aid. I grab Neosporin, band-aids and epsom salt and check my notes for anything else she mentioned about caring for my toe. $12.97
10:00am When I get home, I hop into work and working with our engineers on a promotion for the New Year. I also catch up with Will since he stayed up late last night and I got up early for my appointment. He says he ended up staying up until 3:30am (!!) cleaning up his tools, working on his desk and putting up the shower curtain. I’m floored that he is functional right now after waking up at 8.
12:15pm Heat up the last of the pizza for lunch, along with hummus and carrots.
5:20pm Work is average-paced for the rest of the day. Not doing nothing, not totally over my head. Will puts in potatoes for baked potatoes to have later, which we’ll pair with a salad. We’re getting close to needing a grocery run again, so the meals are becoming more of a mishmash.
We listed a couple things on our local Buy Nothing group last week, so a woman comes by to pick up a wifi router we can’t use anymore. Would totally recommend looking up if there’s a group in your area—they’re usually on Facebook.
6:30pm After dinner I watch more Sister Wives and look up RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit one of my friends shared for Giving Tuesday. They buy unpaid medical debt from collections, so $1 ends up paying off $100 of someone’s medical debt. I give $50 to the Arkansas campaign, which will clear $5,000 of medical debt.
As Will said earlier today, “medical billing in America is a racket” so I really hope this helps clear a burden from an individual or family. Doing this reminds me to check my insurance portal, which is steadily going up as each separate claim comes in. Ahhhh, modern healthcare! $51.49
At the end of each day please tally up your daily expenses. Then at the end of your diary please tally up all expenses in the following categories:
Total: $719.33

• Grocery + Dining Out: $157.77
• Fun + Entertainment: $0
• Home + Health: $164.67
• Clothes + Beauty: $228.64
• Transportation: $11.00
• Gifts + Giving: $157.25

​
Reflection This week felt like a big spending week for me. I checked YNAB and since January, I’ve spent about $1600 per month, not including rent—so about $400/week. That’s why this week’s $719 feels so high!
Writing this diary helped me understand how many things I have going for me. I’ve recently been in a huge funk—about my health, my performance at work and my relationships with family, friends and P. Going to the hospital, needing physical therapy to have sex and being in a pandemic will do that to you.
I was able to zoom out a bit and understand how stable and gratifying my life is. That being said, I’m so glad this community exists. I really love it and learning about all your spending and saving habits. Thanks for being here and sharing :)

I've received my money in to my bank account from 20Cogs and can confirm for certain that it is a great way to earn some easy free money.
My first withdrawal proof: Screenshot of bank account Screenshot of 20Cogs account earnings in November 2020
PROOF of £340 earnings: Screenshot of 20Cogs account earnings as of today Jan 30th 2021
This post is a walk though my experience of it, some helpful info and some proof screenshots.I want to share my referral link as using this site has been really positive for me and paid some bills this winter!
When you sign up using my link you get a £5 bonus: referral link. We both benefit from you using my link as I will receive the value of 5% of your earnings too. I hope you find this information worthwhile, and I am happy to answer questions and provide more screenshots in the comments.
**How it works:*\* Starting at Cog 1, you select from a choice of offers and complete a sign-up to unlock the cog. Once complete you move on to the next. Each completed cog earns you money.
You cash out when all the cogs are completed. You can speed through (like me) and earn less, or you can play the slow game and wait for better offers. Average is apparently around £200.
Examples of my offers:
Download the Yolt app - £5 reward
Amazon Prime free trial - £5 reward
LottoGo deposit £1.00 - £7 reward
Free 14 day Ancestry trial - £2 reward
Screenshot of cog examples
I had heard of and trusted basically every site I signed up to. Some of the offers you can spend money on, but you don't have to. I prefer not to. For instance, you can pay £1.99 for a Graze box and 20Cogs rewards you £4. You always have around 5 offers to choose from so there's always an option to not spend any money.
I spent £1 on the lotto offer as the reward from 20Cogs is £7. Then I won a fiver! Boom.
You can complete more than one offer on each cog, but I advise doing that at the end once each cog is confirmed and Cog 20 is unlocked ready for cash out. Once you have completed 20cogs and cashed out you can continue to earn and cash out repeatedly as long as earnings are over £5. GREAT news! Since collecting my £169.98 I have earned a further £174.34!
Screenshot of two complete tasks on one cog Screenshot of my 20Cogs account earnings
It's definitely worth it for a slow but steady earner. I checked mine quickly for new offers each day and chose to complete a new cog roughly on a weekly basis. It works well on both phone and desktop.
I started on 15th August 2020 and received my first payment on 25th November 2020.
Info:

• Some cogs take 30 days to confirm, but most are pretty quick. However, this doesn't affect the speed you can move on. Once you have clicked the cog link the next cog unlocks. In theory, you can unlock all 20 cogs in one day and complete all the sign-ups, then just wait for them to confirm.
• Be sure to read the Cog T's & C's. They are very clear, very helpful, and placed right next to the Cog info: screenshot. In the example 20Cogs state: "Your monthly payment [to Great Magazines] will continue if you do not cancel your subscriptions. Subscriptions can be cancelled in the My Account section.". I love this as they actively help you in the T's&C's to cancel sign-ups and ensure you are not charged ongoing fees.
• Customer service are really helpful. One of my links went to a site that didn't work, I messaged them with info and screenshots and they apologised and turned my cog green. (Avoid the MrFreeSlots sign-up).
• Make sure to use an account that you can verify if needed, just like gambling sites they may ask for ID (driving license / passport / utility bill). They did for me because I was cheeky and tried to set up two accounts which you are not allowed to do. But they had no quibbles accepting it and I received the money 3 days later.

Easy peasy. Nowt to lose. Feel free to ask me questions!
Imgur album link for all linked screenshots/proof: https://imgur.com/a/s1haZZS
Referral link Nonref link
​
​
edit: formatting

December 2020 Beer Money UK Earning Report
This is my third month of using BeerMoneyUK to supplement my income. This month I made £2,342.
Here are my tow previous reports
October earnings report £774.25
November earnings report £2,731.24
Many thanks again to everyone who used some of my links to sign up for the offers. It is much appreciated. Hope you got some good Beer Money from it and remembered to share your links
Hope the below report is useful for people to see what are some of the best paying / most popular referral programmes.
This month I guestimate I worked about 50 hours to achieve this.
I am setting myself a goal to make £1,500 per month for 2021 or a total of at least £18,000. I think / hope this is achievable 🙏 .
Hope everyone has a great 2021, we all deserve it after such a bad 2020 !!!
Any questions just let me know. I am happy to help 😊
​

Company / link to Reddit post	Referral Link / Non - Referral Link	Sign Up Bonus	Required Min Purchase / Transfer Amount	My Earnings
Zumo	Referral link / Non referral Use referral code: ABC123	£10.73	£0	£669.44
Swissborg	Referral link / Non referral	€1-100 (Average ~€10)	€50	£211.06
WorldRemit	Referral link / Non referral	£20	£100	£200
Zelf	Referral link / Non referral	€5	€0	£145
Metro Bank	Referral link / Non referral	£50	Pay in salary or £500 pm	£100
Gemini	Referral link / Non referral	£8	£80	£92.87
Curve	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£0	£95
TFG Crowd	Referral link / Non referral	€20	€100	£90
Currency Fair	N/A	€50	€2,000	£90
Transferwise	Referral link / Non referral	£75 for 3 referrals	£200	£75
Xendpay	Referral link / Non referral	€10	€100	£65
Bitwala	Referral link / Non referral	€15	€30	£54
Tickr	Referral link / Non referral	£12	£5	£48
Vybe	Referral link / Non referral	£2	£0	£44
Bitpanda	Referral link / Non referral	€20 + €5 for quiz	€25	£36
Coinfield	Referral link / Non referral	£11	£100 (need to buy SOLO)	£35
Celsius	Referral link / Non referral	$40	$200	£33
Mode	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£30
Skrill	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£30
ViaInvest	Referral link / Non referral	€15	€50	£27
Instarem	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£200	£22.20
Luno	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£20
Snoop	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£0	£20
TransferGo	Referral link / Non referral	£20	£50	£20
October	Referral link / Non referral	€20	€500	£18
Kriptomat	Referral link / Non referral	€10	€100	£18
Oval	Referral link / Non referral Referral code: KPN6NPYYU	£5	£6	£15
Easy Send	Referral link / Non referral	£10 for a referral	£100	£10
Costa Coffee	Referral link / Non referral Referral code: X8LOZ	£3	£2-3	£9
Verse	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£4	£10
Wirex	Referral link / Non referral	$10	£80	£5.35
InstaCoin	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£50	£5.08
BlockFi	Referral link / Non referral	$10	£100	£0
Twino	Referral link / Non referral	£15	£100	£0
Azimo	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£90	£0
Cash App	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£50	£0
Passfolio	Referral link / Non referral	$1-100	$25	£0
Quidco	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£5 in cashback	£0
Crypto Exchange	Referral link / Non referral	$50	£250 (5,000 staked in CRO)	£0
TopCashBack	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£5 in cashback	£0
Lenndy	Referral link / Non referral	€10	€100	£0
			TOTAL	£2,342

​

Hi Everyone,
Hope you all have a great November.
I wanted to follow up my October Earnings Report with an update as to how things are progressing with me using this subreddit to earn some Beer Money :)
Straight off the bat I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in this community that has helped me achieve a big month of Beer Money earning. I would like to say thanks to everyone that has clicked on one of my referral links this month, it is super appreciated!!!
This month's Beer Money far exceeded my expectations. November was my second full month of using Beer Money UK.
I am surprised but really pleased to have earnt £2,731.24 in November. Most of this has been from referrals to many thanks to all the BeerMoneyUkers that made this possible.
I am surprised again it was so high. I knew I was going to beat last month's £774.25, (I was hoping to double it), but I have exceeded my expectations. I think it again shows that every little helps. A big part of this months earning have been from Zumo. I think the best offers are the ones that d not require any deposits. This makes them accessible to as many people as possible. I have earned over £700 this month from Zumo alone.
Hopefully by letting people know how I managed to earn over £2,700 this month other people can put in place steps to earn similar. I Appreciate the economy is still rubbish and lots of people are being made redundant or having hours reduced. There are lots of people out there that could with a few extra pounds to make ends meet. I am happy to answer any questions anyone has. At the least i can tell you what has worked for me. Please feel free to ask on the comments below or DM me.
Last time I received a couple of comments asking me for the amount of time it took.
It took me 50-60 hours this month.
I started on this path as a way to make a bit of extra money due me having my hours per week reduced by 20 due to Covid. It was a bit scary thinking about how the bill were going to be paid. Now I am a lot more optimistic about things. I am quite enjoying working from home and doing things Beer Money related. I am not sure if this month will be a bit of a fluke. I am going to see how things go with December before setting some Beer Money UK goals / new year resolutions for 2021.
I am still pretty much exclusively making use of the sign up deals on this site. I have not done any of the remote work ones yet.
Please see below the table below showing where the Beer Money has come from. I have also added proof where possible.
A few points to note:

• I again haven't included fees in this report as it would take a while to work out and would only be a small percentage of the amount ~2%.
• A couple of the offers Zelf and Vybe are not yet launched. Who knows... they might never launch. But neither have cost me anything other than my time to write a post and share it. Either way I cannot cash these out just yet.
• I am still a big fan of the Bitcoin / cryptocurrency bonuses. Three of the top five earner this month are crypto currency related. It has probably helped my earning this month that Bitcoin and Ethereum are shooting up in price. I am comfortable with crypto. If anyone is interested in getting started I made a Beer Money UK guide to the current offers.
• Also the offers below are in Pounds, Euros and Dollars, so I converted the earning to £GBP to make things easy for comparison.
• I did have a couple of problems with some companies that have refused to honor bonuses. But generally most have gone smoothly.
• I have included some tips and a template for those interested in seeing what system I use: BeerMoneyUK - Offers to do December 2020

Some tips:

• This month I have made more in referrals than signups. I would recommend sharing your links and making your own posts about offers.
• Sign up for as many things as possible. I would recommend going through the list below and signing up for the offers you think you will do. If you do not end up doing them, no problems. I have found taking action and signing up to things asap, even if it is just starting by registering my email etc is useful as the companies offer send me chase ups if I forget to finish the sign up process.
• If you come accross a good offer. You get an email about a refer a friend scheme etc, post about it :)

Here is a list of the Beer Money earning I received this month. I have totaled up how much someone would receive if they just signed up for everything and it is over £420 just in sign up bonuses.

November 2020 Beer Money UK Earning Report

​

Company / link to Reddit post	Referral Link / Non - Referral Link	Sign Up Bonus	Required Min Purchase / Transfer Amount	My Earnings *proof
Zumo	Referral link / Non referral Use referral code: ABC123	£8.78	£0	£736.35 *
WorldRemit	Referral link / Non referral	£20	£100	£240
Bitwala	Referral link / Non referral	€15	€0	£230
Swissborg	Referral link / Non referral	€1-100 (Average ~€10)	€50	£185.43 *
Metro Bank	Referral link / Non referral	£50	Pay in salary or £500 pm	£150 *
Mode	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£150
Curve	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£0	£125
Zelf	Referral link / Non referral	€5	€0	£115 *
Xendpay	Referral link / Non referral	€10	€100	£85 *
Twino	Referral link / Non referral	£15	£100	£60 *
Instarem	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£200	£51 *
Skrill	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£50
Gemini	Referral link / Non referral	£8	£80	£50
Currency Fair	N/A	€50	€2,000	£45
Coinfield	Referral link / Non referral	£11	£100 (need to buy SOLO)	£45
ViaInvest	Referral link / Non referral	€15	€50	£40 *
Vybe	Referral link / Non referral	£2	£0	£40 *
Luno	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£100	£37.94 *
Crypto Exchange	Referral link / Non referral	$50	£250 (5,000 staked in CRO)	£37
October	Referral link / Non referral	€20	€500	£36 *
Bitpanda	Referral link / Non referral	€10 + €5 for quiz	€25	£36 *
Celsius	Referral link / Non referral	$40	$200	£32 *
Tickr	Referral link / Non referral	£10	£5	£30 *
Easy Send	Referral link / Non referral	£10 for a referral	£100	£30 *
InstaCoin	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£50	£25.38 *
BlockFI	Referral link / Non referral	Free	Free	£16 *
Wirex	Referral link / Non referral	$10	£80	£15 *
Verse	Referral link / Non referral	£4-5	£4	£14.14
Cash App	Referral link / Non referral	£5	£50	£10
Passfolio	Referral link / Non referral	$1-100	$25	£5 *
Oval	Referral link / Non referral Referral code: KPN6NPYYU	£5	£6	£5
Costa Coffee	Referral link / Non referral Referral code: X8LOZ	£3	£2-3	£4
Kriptomat	Referral link / Non referral	€10	€100	£0
Crypterium	Referral link / Non referral	$5	€50	£0
Transferwise	Referral link / Non referral	£75 for 3 referrals	£200	£0
Quidco	Referral link / Non referral	£75 for 3 referrals	£5 in cashback	£0
			TOTAL	£2,731.24

​
Hope that is useful :)
Any questions just let me know.

• 1 day ago AutoModerator removed link "PFS buyer litigation"
• 1 day ago AutoModerator removed link "Reducing AF by lowering credit line"
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Marriott free cert for chase posting time"
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Anybody have an easy way to trigger chase direct d..."
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Is there a way to set up a one-time direct deposit..."
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Can you get the same card for multiple businesses?"
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "How to use the 100$ AMEX gold airline fee without ..."
• 2 days ago AutoModerator removed link "MS/general non-business spending on chase ink busi..."
• 3 days ago AutoModerator removed link "How early can I downgrade my AMEX Delta Gold to Bl..."
• 3 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Not able to order Simon Visa gift cards online"
• 3 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Not able to order Simon Visa gift cards online"
• 3 days ago AutoModerator removed link "No able to checkout on Simon Gift Card Mall site f..."
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "No credit history churning for big spend"
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Quick question about ACH transfers for bank bonuse..."
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Churning business cards?"
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Bank Sign Up Bonus Risk"
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Keeping AMEX gold without the platinum"
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Apple Card advice for grad student"
• 4 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Will Chase offer another checking/saving account o..."
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "What's a service that will write/send a check and ..."
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "World of Hyatt & MLife(MGM) Question"
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Chase Ink Unlimited - 200,000 SUB (75,000 + 125,00…”
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Using Debit Gift Cards @ AAA auto insurance?"
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Weighing benefits of sapphire reserve vs amex plat..."
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Bank Account Bonus - Week of November 17, 2020”
• 5 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Bank Account Bonus - Week of November 17, 2020"
• 6 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Downgrwde Chase Sapphires, then reapply"
• 6 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Hire Spy Company"
• 7 days ago AutoModerator removed link "Moving to the UK, have had the Sapphire Reserve fo..."

Hi Everyone,
Hope you all had a great October.
Firstly many thanks to everyone who helped me to achieve some extra Beer Money this month it is super appreciated. I have been chuffed every time I see a post that gives me an opportunity to get some extra £'s, $'s or €'s.
It is great to see so many people sharing their referrals and helping out others in the threads.
Just wanted to share with the community how in October 2020 I made £774.25 through using the Beer Money UK Reddit group. Tonight is the first time I have added it all up and I am really surprised it was so high. I thought it was going to be half around £350! Therefore, I am super happy to share with everyone what I did.
Hopefully it will help some other people to make some extra money this month. Please feel free to comment below or reach out to me on DM if you have any questions. The economy if a bit rubbish right now and I appreciate their are lots of people out there that could with a few extra pounds to make ends meet.
For background I set up this Reddit account about 2 months ago during lock down as a result of having my hours at work decreased by 20 hours a week. I was worried money might get a little tight and as a result I thought it would be idea to try and make some extra money with the additional time I had.
Thinking / hoping it would just be for a temporary period I wanted to choose something I could pick up and put down easily, that had no set hours. I considered flowing options:

• Micro task sites
• Surveys / Product reviews etc
• Mystery shopping etc
• BeerMoneyUK

I tried a few Micro task sites and earned a small amount, ~£20 ish pounds or so, but I was so mind-numbingly bored from them that I discounted them as an option. Congrats to everyone that is making money this way. I mainly tried Neevo / Defined Crowd. I lost the will to live when I had to listen to recording of two of the same thing and say which one I liked better eg 'Go right at the next junction' only to find I got the answers wrong. How I could get the answers wrong to which one I preferred I do not know?!?
The surveys I did try paid too small amount for the time they took and I also found them boring.
I could not be bothered going out to do shopping, and it was the middle of a pandemic, so I discounted mystery shopping.
That left with me with using BeeryMoneyUK as my test bed for additional income from signing up to new services :)
After trying the above in September time. October was my first full month of utilising the offers from BeerMoneyUK.
Here is my October 2020 Earning Report:

• Earnings in GBP: £447.70
• Earnings in EUR: €184.00 (£175.91)
• Earnings in USD: $195.00 (£150.64)

Total earnings: £774.25
Note, I haven't included fees in this report as it would take a while to work out and would only be a small percentage of the amount ~2%.
Also with regards the Bitcoin / cryptocurrency bonuses I keep these in denominated in Bitcoin. There is no chance I am selling these for fiat!!! I also have not accounted for the rise in Bitcoin price that will have pushed my earning up higher :)
Tips for people looking to maximize income from BeerMoneyUK:
Here are my observations and tips for people like me looking to make a little bit of money on the side with their free time:

1. Make sure you have ID (passport, driving license, bank statements etc), all the best offers require some sort of verification / KYC. Keep copies of these on your hard drive in a specific folder so you can drag and drop them when needed.
2. Make sure you have a Euro / Multi-Currency accounts. Shameless plug for Bitwala and TransferWise both of these accounts have enabled me to fully take advantage of Euro and USD offers. I use both the web based and app versions regularly for these accounts. Its nice to get a phone notification letting you know a payment or transfer has arrived. So I can immediately send it back to my main account.
3. Read the BeerMoneyUK rules. They help keep the place running smoothly.
4. I use a separate Browser for everything BeerMoneyUK related. The browser I use is Brave This is logged into this Reddit account and has LastPass Chrome Extension installed to save all my passwords. Chrome extensions all work well in Brave. I create unique random 20+ character passwords for all my accounts. Using Last Pass means you do not need to remember them. Having a dedicated browser for all the deals makes things work well. It also auto populates many of the signup forms to save time.
5. Best types of offers in order of size free bonuses; Bank Switches, Money Transfer Services, Cryptocurrency, P2P Investing. Don't be scared to get stuck into new markets and try services you wouldn't normally try. Give it ago and make some free money along the way! Also for bank switches I do not use my main account. I just create an additional current account that can be switched. Pretty much all banks let you do this and it takes 5 mins to set up. If the switched have requirements no problems... Eg must have 3 payments/direct debits set up. Ok :) link account to Paypal (2 mins), set up regular monthly payment to main account £1 a month, set up regular monthly payment of £1 a month into TransferWise account.
6. Learn to love Bitcoin :) £10 in Bitcoin today is worth £100 in Bitcoin sometime very soon, and £1,000 in the not too distant future. I think anyone that does spends the time to find out more about Bitcoin will end up either loving it or at the very least respecting it as an investment asset that should be in everyone's portfolio. When viewing offers for free Bitcoin I view it in this mindset. If an exchange wants to give me £10 of free Bitcoin I see it as them giving me £100-£1000 for free! Don't cash Bitcoin out! Hodl!
7. When you post an offer to help people via DM as well as in the thread. At least 3 people have DM'd me asking for help with offers and I have helped them with one, and then helped them further by suggesting similar offers.
8. Use a laptop / Desktop to do the offers. I think it would be a struggle for me to do all the offers if I could not use these. Also you do need to have your phone handy for some. Have an authenticator app installed for 2FA (two factor authentication). Save all 2FA's in this app.
9. Be organised! I have a Google Doc that I list all my offers on. Here is a BeerMoneyUK Template version made for people to use. Feel free to copy and then edit it: https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=197E853733392C3A!3518&ithint=file%2cdocx&authkey=!AKAVtjAHW_OqsRg
10. Check BeerMoneyUK regularly. I sort posts by 'new' and check all the posts that have been made since the last time I checked. This ensure I do not miss anything. If I see something to sign up for I copy the URL and add it to my Google Doc. I pretty much sign up for things only when I have the time (weekend or evenings).
11. Money... Unfortunately the old adage is true. It takes money to make money. I am not sure how much I have spent this month on money transfers etc, and although you do get all your money back, for lots of offers you do need to have at least some money to start with. I probably used a good £500 to put towards my money transfers etc. To reduce the impact of this make sure you have a system in place to quickly recycle your cash and avoid doing any offers that require you to lock up your capital for too long unless you have the cash. For example the P2P offers below can be cashed out in a month. But some of the investments on the October.EU platform are 48 months!! No chance I would invest in them. I want a quick in and out. 3 months max, maybe 6 months at a push for a good deal. Nearly all of the deals below are instant meaning you can cash out immediately.
12. Every little bit adds up. Sometimes I think should I do this one is only worth £5. Do it! Everything adds up, especially when you consider the last point
13. Share your referral link. After you have received your referral bonus make sure you share your link on the thread you signed up with and also create your own post on the BeerMoneyUK Reddit.

I am super happy to help so please feel free to send me a DM if you have any questions. I would be only too pleased to help someone make an extra bit of Beer Money in time for Christmas. Especially now I will have likely more time with the new lock down!!
​
How much time did it take?
I did not time myself doing these offers so hard to be exact. I would guess it has taken me between 30-50 hours in total for the month.
When signing up for offers I get side tracked. I do not see it as work because I am at home and the time is flexible. I might start one thing only to get distracted by life. I also do not try and do everything as fast as possible. I like learning new things and figuring out how something works. So I often find myself reading around a topic, or watching a few YouTube videos, to get a better understanding of something.
My plan is to time myself for November so hopefully I will have an accurate idea at the end of the month. I think it will take less hours this month as I have already completed a lot of sign-ups and written most of the referral posts that will just need to be re-posted.
​
Here is a breakdown of my October 2020 Earnings:
These are all the offers I did in October. Most of the income I have made in October is from actually signing up to the offers in question.
It would be super good if for November I can make some money from some of you excellent people signing up for the deals you think are good for you. Please make use of the referral links below and I will be eternally grateful, please remember to share your referral links to on the relevant posts!!
The deals below are in no particular order. I just pasted them from my own document. Here is a template version for you to copy/save so you can edit:
https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=197E853733392C3A!3518&ithint=file%2cdocx&authkey=!AKAVtjAHW_OqsRg
​
Company: Costa Coffee
Category: Free money
Get a free £3 when signing up and making your first purchase!
My Referral Link: https://swf3j.app.goo.gl/JCbSp
Invite code: IPLOO
Non Referral Link: https://www.costa.co.uk/ Download the app and enter the referral code when asked at signup for a Free £3
Earnings: £3
​
Company: Zumo Money
Category: Cryptocurrency
Get £5.50 when you sign up to Zumo Money and use my referral code
Referral code: ABC123
Earnings: £5.50
​
Company: TransferWise
Category: Free money
My thread: Fee-free transfer up to £500 and a £5 reward for when using the TransferWise debit card
Earning: £0
​
Company: Viainvest
Catergory: Free money
My thread: Free €15 when you deposit €50
Earnings: €15
​
Company: Tide Bank
Catergory: Free money
My thread: Get a Free £50 when you open an account
Earnings: £50
​
Company: Crypterium
Catergory: Crptocurrency
Offer: Free $5 when buy 50 euro of BTC
My Referral link Free $5
Non referral link no bonus
Earnings: $5
​
Company: October
Category: Free money
My thread: Get a free €20 to invest with October - No spending required
Earnings: €20
​
Company: Wirex
Category: Cryptocurrency
My thread: $10 of free Bitcoin for new users
Earnings: $10
​
Company: Lloyds Bank
Category: Account Switch
Offer: Get £100 for switching your account
Earnings: £100
​
Company: Kriptomat
Category: Cryptocurrency
Offer: buy or sell 100EUR or more of crypto, you’ll receive 10EUR worth of free Bitcoin!
My Referral Link Free €10
Non referral link no bonus
Earnings: €10
​
Company: Passfolio
Category: Free money
My thread: Get a free stock worth $1 and $100 with a $25 deposit (suitable for UK users)
Earnings: $100
​
Company: Curve
Category: Free Money
Offer: Get a free £5 for signing up to Curve
My Referral Link Free £5
Non referral link No bonus
Referral code: DWB926AD
Earnings: £5
​
Company: Swissborg
Category: Cryptocurrency
Offer: Get a bonus reward between €1-€100 in Bitcoin for signing up
My Referral Link €1-€100 bonus
Non referral link no bonus
Earnings: €14
​
Company: Xendpay
Category: Free money
Offer: £10 off your first money transfer
My Referral Link £10 bonus
Non referral link no bonus
Referral code: E471136
Earnings: £10
​
Company: Brave
Category: Passive Income
My thread: Brave browser - Earn around £5 a month by trying a new browser
Earnings: £21.20
​
Company: Mode Banking
Category: Cryptocurrency
My thread: Free £10 with Mode Banking when you buy or deposit £100 worth of Bitcoin (UK based)
Earnings: £68
​
Company: InstaCoin UK
Category: Cryptocurrency
My thread: Instacoin UK - Get a free £10 worth of Bitcoin (same day) for £100 Bitcoin purchase (UK Only)
Earnings: £80
​
Company: Gemini
Catergory: Cryptocurrency
My thread: Gemini get $10 free in bitcoin when you buy or sell $100 worth of Bitcoin - Now accepting UK Bank deposits
Earnings: $10
​
Company: Metro
Category: Free Money
Offer: Switch to Metro Bank, we’ll send you £50
My Referral link Free £50
Non referral link no bonus
Earnings: £?? bonuses are paid in January 2021 so I do not know how many people have signed up with my link yet.
​
Company: BlockFI
Category: Cryptocurrency
My post: Earn Interest on your Bitcoin and Get a free $10 when you open an account
Earnings: $10
​
Company: WorldRemit
Category: Free Money
My post: WorldRemit get a free £20 for sending £100 to yourself
Earnings: £60
​
Company: Bitrefill
Category: Cryptocurrency
My post: $5 free with Bitrefill for purchasing $50 gift cards
Earnings: $20
​
Company: Luno
Category: Cryptocurrency
My post: Get an instant free £10 when you buy £100 in Bitcoin
Earnings: £10
​
Company: Bitwala
Category: Free money
My post: Get 15€ from for opening a European bank account (no deposit needed!)
Earnings: €60
​
Company: Crypto.com
Category: Cryptocurrency
My post: Crypto.com Visa Card: $50 bonus, Free Spotify, 1-8% cashback on all purchases
Earnings: $50
​
Company: CurrencyFair
Category: Free money
My Post: Free 50€ when you transfer 2000€ to yourself using CurrencyFair
Earnings: €50
I had to remove the links for this one as currencyfair contacted me. They are happy for me to share the link in private though so DM me for the link if you want it :)
​
Company: BitPanda
Category: Cryptocurrency
My post: Get a free 15€ from Bitpanda exchange
Earnings: €15
​
Company: Skrill
Category: Free money
My post: Free £10 on your first money transfer
Earnings: £20
​
Company: Twino
Category: Free money
My post: Free £15 for new users wanting to try out P2P investing
Earnings: £15
​
Company: TransferGo
Category: Free money
My post: Get a quick £10 for free transferring money to yourself
Earnings: £30

I've received my money in to my bank account from 20Cogs and can confirm for certain that it is a great way to earn some easy free money.
My first withdrawal proof: Screenshot of bank account Screenshot of 20Cogs account earnings in November 2020
PROOF of £340 earnings: Screenshot of 20Cogs account earnings as of today Jan 30th 2021
This post is a walk though my experience of it, some helpful info and some proof screenshots.I want to share my referral link as using this site has been really positive for me and paid some bills this winter!
When you sign up using my link you get a £5 bonus: referral link. We both benefit from you using my link as I will receive the value of 5% of your earnings too. I hope you find this information worthwhile, and I am happy to answer questions and provide more screenshots in the comments.
**How it works:*\* Starting at Cog 1, you select from a choice of offers and complete a sign-up to unlock the cog. Once complete you move on to the next. Each completed cog earns you money.
You cash out when all the cogs are completed. You can speed through (like me) and earn less, or you can play the slow game and wait for better offers. Average is apparently around £200.
Examples of my offers:
Download the Yolt app - £5 reward
Amazon Prime free trial - £5 reward
LottoGo deposit £1.00 - £7 reward
Free 14 day Ancestry trial - £2 reward
Screenshot of cog examples
I had heard of and trusted basically every site I signed up to. Some of the offers you can spend money on, but you don't have to. I prefer not to. For instance, you can pay £1.99 for a Graze box and 20Cogs rewards you £4. You always have around 5 offers to choose from so there's always an option to not spend any money.
I spent £1 on the lotto offer as the reward from 20Cogs is £7. Then I won a fiver! Boom.
You can complete more than one offer on each cog, but I advise doing that at the end once each cog is confirmed and Cog 20 is unlocked ready for cash out. Once you have completed 20cogs and cashed out you can continue to earn and cash out repeatedly as long as earnings are over £5. GREAT news! Since collecting my £169.98 I have earned a further £174.34!
Screenshot of two complete tasks on one cog Screenshot of my 20Cogs account earnings
It's definitely worth it for a slow but steady earner. I checked mine quickly for new offers each day and chose to complete a new cog roughly on a weekly basis. It works well on both phone and desktop.
I started on 15th August 2020 and received my first payment on 25th November 2020.
Info:

• Some cogs take 30 days to confirm, but most are pretty quick. However, this doesn't affect the speed you can move on. Once you have clicked the cog link the next cog unlocks. In theory, you can unlock all 20 cogs in one day and complete all the sign-ups, then just wait for them to confirm.
• Be sure to read the Cog T's & C's. They are very clear, very helpful, and placed right next to the Cog info: screenshot. In the example 20Cogs state: "Your monthly payment [to Great Magazines] will continue if you do not cancel your subscriptions. Subscriptions can be cancelled in the My Account section.". I love this as they actively help you in the T's&C's to cancel sign-ups and ensure you are not charged ongoing fees.
• Customer service are really helpful. One of my links went to a site that didn't work, I messaged them with info and screenshots and they apologised and turned my cog green. (Avoid the MrFreeSlots sign-up).
• Make sure to use an account that you can verify if needed, just like gambling sites they may ask for ID (driving license / passport / utility bill). They did for me because I was cheeky and tried to set up two accounts which you are not allowed to do. But they had no quibbles accepting it and I received the money 3 days later.

Easy peasy. Nowt to lose. Feel free to ask me questions!
Imgur album link for all linked screenshots/proof: https://imgur.com/a/s1haZZS
Referral link Nonref link

Metro Bank are currently offering new customers that sign up with a refer a friend link a free £50. This must be done be done before 18th December 2020.
Links:
My Referral Link £50 switch bonus
Non Referral link No bonus
The £50 pay out will be made Within 30 days of meeting all of the terms and conditions in this offer.
I can confirm Metro have started to make payouts :)
I have received £100 from referrals so far Payment Proof and the two people that used my referral link have been credited with their money .
If you are quick you can signup now and potentially get a friend signed up to double your bonus to £100!
I have used Metro Bank for a while. My experience with their app, online banking and support has always been positive.
You do not need to switch your main account. If you like you can switch an account you do not use much. Even an empty bank account would work. If you have a bank account not doing anything at the moment sign it for a swithc and get a free £50.
Steps to get your free £50:

1. Sign up with my My Referral Link (unlimited referrals)
2. Apply for your new Metro Bank Current Account
3. Switch to Metro Bank using the Current Account Switch Service.
4. Within 30 days of your account being opened you need to deposit at least £500 into your new account for both of the first two months, and make 10 debit card purchases in that time. If you open it this month you can pay in your Decembers' salary and use your card over Christmas to be sure of the bonus.

Let me know if you have any questions.